[WTB: Vectrex System (Found One)]

Greetings again everyone, happy holidays.

 

I know it's been a while but never really got anything solid on this and figured I'd ask again to see if perhaps anyone has a Vectrex they are looking to part with for some extra Christmas money?

 

I've stalked eBay but the prices are just astronomical and really a gamble on what you are going to get.  I figured it would be better to try to check here again.

 

So I'm still looking for a Vectrex console in good, working condition, with one or two controllers. Also interested in any Vectrex games with overlays, including homebrews and\or a multi-cart to get me started if I can find a system.

 

Please just let me know if you have anything above you are wanting to part with. 

 

Thanks and take care!

[WTB: Vectrex System (Found One)]

Greetings Programs!

 

I'm looking for a Vectrex console in good, working condition, with one or two controllers. Also interested in any Vectrex games with overlays, including homebrews and\or a multi-cart to get me started if I can find a system.

 

Please just let me know if you have anything above you are wanting to part with.

 

Thanks and take care!

 

Edit 12/14/19:  Found one, thanks everyone for the help and hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday season.

[Composite Mod: Any Help Appreciated]

Thanks everyone, I ended up getting one of those mod chips from http://electronicsen...mbled Mods.html and everything looks great, BUT I have one small issue that remains.

 

For some reason, there are horizontal steady scrolling white bars. It's hard to explain but they just slowly scroll across the screen from top to bottom. They aren't really white, it's almost like the brightness is higher in these bars that scroll. I triple checked all the connections and continuity and everything is solid and I also tried adjusting the two Contrast and Brightness pots on the board but nothing gets rid of them, it only seems to minimize them.

 

If it wasn't for these scrolling things, it would look AMAZING and everything else does, it's clear as a bell and resolved my other issues with the blurring and out of focus areas.

 

So not sure where to go from here, I emailed the person from the website but haven't heard back and he didn't respond to previous emails earlier this week so not sure why but hope it's just something I'm overlooking as I have a new power supply and am using the gold phono plugs. I used wires from a LAN cable but really don't think that would cause this as the pics from his installation pages look to use the same kind of wire.

 

Anyway, if anyone knows anything about this type of issue, I would greatly appreciate any help.

 

Thanks again!

[Harmony Encore Issues: Was Working but now Black Screen]

Greetings Programs,

 

I have a Harmony Encore and it seemed like it was working fine, then all of a sudden it started giving me issues. I would have to reseat it a couple of times for it to work. Then finally all I get is a black screen. All of my other games work fine.

 

I cleaned it and it was a little dirty but not much and my Atari is really clean.

 

I tried reflashing the BIOS, switched to a different SD card and no help. I had to manually update the USB driver to get the cartridge to recognize but it finally did.

 

I am on v106 I think as i just got the cartridge about 2 weeks ago.

 

Thanks for any help.

[Composite Mod: Any Help Appreciated]

That tape isn't nescessary. at first I thought it was heat shrink and wondering why you didn't heat it but then saw the seam and realized it was electrical tape. No purpose in having that on there no offense but it looks terrible. If you solder it where it is supposed to go and the insulation doesn't get burnt back it isn't going to touch anything else, but you could always use a dab of hot glue on it instead if you wanted to.

 

EDIT:

 

I originally added another option which I realized I worded wrong or I wasn't thinking clearly so now I'm rewriting it. I was going to mention another option is that if you were supposed to clip the lead and solder to that(hard to tell by the picture if it was just soldered to the resistor or if it was clipped first) then what you can do(if there is only one trace going to that component hole counting both sides of board) is cut the trace on the board, pull that end of the component up and put the wire in, and shove the component lead back down thru it and solder them together that way. It serves same purpose as clipping the lead but it gives you something extra to solder to and keeps everything in place. If there is more than one trace going to that particular point though it might not be a good idea because those traces may need to remain electrically connected and therefore clipping the lead might be the better option but still I wouldn't use electrical tape.

 

 

Thanks for the feedback and I know it looks fugly.

 

Basically when I got my Atari a week ago, I ordered one of those kits on eBay that comes with a small circuit board and all the necessary components (wire, transistor, resistors and phono plugs). Then as I started researching and preparing myself for this mod, I saw a few threads and videos showing that all you really needed were composite cables, a transistor and 2 resistors and since I live close to a RadioShack I figured I'd try to do it while I wait and Voila, here we are.

 

I was concerned with the little wire still showing and that it might hit another component, hence the electrical tape. I can say that this was a learning experience and I obtained a lot of knowledge on how the Atari works as well as how this composite mod works. I am very OCD and this wasn't my ideal modification.

 

I went ahead and did the cap kit and voltage regulator upgrade that was listed on another thread but once I connected everything back, I wasn't getting any video, so I thought I really FUBAR'd everything but when it was on, I tried moving (in Pitfall) and I got sound and everything seemed to work, except the video and I wasn't even getting any signal as my TV showed no input. Low and behold the video out wire was disconnected and actually broke off from the transistor right at the very bottom of the transistor and there was no way I was soldering it back.

 

So I guess that leaves me to just wait for the $10 kit I ordered and do it the way it's listed here: (http://vintagegamingandmore.com/installation-guide-4switch/)

 

I am hoping that my video issues I listed in this thread are linked to the poor work I did and perhaps the cheap composite cables I used although all the connections were pretty solid from what I could tell.

 

So the only real question I have for anyone is, should I just use this $10 kit or purchase one from here (http://electronicsentimentalities.com/Assembled%20Mods.html) as it seems it is similar to the Ben Heck mod? I am just wondering if anyone has done or seen these and is there THAT MUCH of a difference. I know I am never going to get HD from this but just would like a nice clear picture.

 

Thanks again for any and all help.

[Composite Mod: Any Help Appreciated]

Ok, partial update...

 

I went to a flea market today and found another Vader 2600 and couldn't believe it was a Revision 16 like mine and this one even had socketed IC chips. It didn't work and was in rough shape but I mainly got it for parts and to try out the TIA chip (from my other thread).

 

Anyway, I took those two components I took off by mistake and put them back, so now I just have the original composite mod, see pic below.

 

If anyone has any thoughts\feedback\suggestions, just let me know as I'm all ears and not sure if I should replace those few capacitors and voltage regulator (http://atariage.com/forums/topic/262206-cap-and-vr-kit-specifications-replacement-locations-for-the-2600-variants/).

 

Or if I should scrap this composite mod and go for one of these here (http://electronicsentimentalities.com/Assembled%20Mods.html)

 

Thanks again for any and all help.

 

 

Back to Normal:

 

[Need Help: 2nd Player Paddle Issues and a Few Others]

Well, that was fast. I ended up going to a flea market today and lo and behold they had an Atari 2600 Vader, same Revision 16 and this one even had the IC chips socketed. It was kept outdoors as the difficulty switches were rusted and I didn't get any picture or anything when I tried hooking it up.

 

However, I took the TIA chip off (easy part thanks to the socket) and then took out the old TIA (what a PIA) and went ahead and put my own 40 pin socket, just in case. Drumroll.......it now works perfect, both paddles for player 1 and 2 work great, SUCCESS!!!

 

Icing on the cake is that I also took one of the controller ports and replaced the one on this one that broke, so that's taken care of and the next step is the screw those bad boys down.

 

Picture still isn't what I thought it would be but I started another thread about that.

 

Thanks again and hope this helps someone in the future if they have this same problem.

[Need Help: 2nd Player Paddle Issues and a Few Others]

Thanks again everyone for the help.

 

I think I have this solved, for now as I ordered the TIA chip and it should be here next week sometime. Once I get this installed, I'll post an update to confirm if this fixed the issue.

 

As always, I truly appreciate all the help from everyone here.

[Composite Mod: Any Help Appreciated]

Greetings again everyone,

 

I attempted a composite mod using the simple 2N3904 Transistor and the 2.2k and 3.3k resistors. I think it went well, until I did more researching.

 

Unfortunately I was using a tutorial that ended up being for a PAL 2600 Vader vs. NTSC Vader (http://mrpjevans.com/2014/05/composite-modding-the-atari-2600/) and I believe I removed 2 extra components that I shouldn't have and now I am wondering if this is what's causing a not so clear picture. I believe the 2 components are the R222 (12 K Resistor) and the C209 (47pF capacitor), although I could have sworn it was the same shape as a resistor (like this one from this pic http://vintagegamingandmore.com/vintage/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/IMG_1627.jpg)? I also watched several videos and some people also removed these components on their NTSC 2600, so again, not sure if this is ok or really matters? I also made a rookie mistake and just removed and trashed these components and didn't even take a picture, I guess I wasn't thinking that day unfortunately as I am usually good about taking pics and saving everything.

 

Anyway, I do get a better picture than I got with the RF but it just seems a little blurry or washed out. When it's on Black and White, it looks great, not grainy or anything. I will post some pics at the end of this post. I did adjust the color pot to as close as I could comparing it to an emulator on my LCD TV using Pitfall.

 

So I guess my next question is, did I mess up something and should I try to put back the R222 and C209 parts?

 

I also read that to get the best composite video, you should use the mods that tie into the TIA chip, like they have at this website (http://electronicsentimentalities.com/Assembled%20Mods.html). Are these better and should I just go with this one? If so, do I then not need to worry about the R222 and C209?

 

Apologies for all the questions as I am lost now and hope the experts here can help. I am getting a replacement TIA chip as mine has issues with the Player 2 paddle, so not sure if this could also be a cause to the picture quality.

 

Lastly, I also read where some have replaced a few components to produce a better picture (http://atariage.com/forums/topic/262206-cap-and-vr-kit-specifications-replacement-locations-for-the-2600-variants/). Should I try this as I do have all these components?

 

Thanks again for any and all help and guidance. Who knows, maybe this is how it should look (I'm hoping but doubt it LOL)?

 

 

 

What my board looks like after the mod:

 

 

 

 

Pics on my CRT:

 

 

 

 

Pics on my LCD TV:

 

 

 

[Need Help: 2nd Player Paddle Issues and a Few Others]

The TIA handles the paddle lines and does not have the benefit of a hex buffer, like the 6ers do. Another issue with 4sw in general is broken pins under the controller ports.

 

 

Yeah, I'm learning fast about these Atari 2600's but thankfully it's not too complex as I am not that good with schematics just yet but I think I have it narrowed down to the darn TIA chip but thankfully I can get one ordered and just hope he also has a spare controller port as like you said, when I was troubleshooting, I accidentally broke off a pin but temporarily soldered it back together.

 

Thanks again for the help!

[Need Help: 2nd Player Paddle Issues and a Few Others]

Welcome to the forum! I'll bet we can get your 4 switch straightened out.

 

Start at the beginning - what's the rev level of the board? It will be etched into the copper, either on the from, back or both, depending on the revision. Also - keep it simple and troubleshoot one thing at a time. Forget about the paddles for the moment and verify that the port(s) work correctly using the joysticks, then move back to the paddles. Missile command is a good cheap choice for this task - plus it's a fun game :-)

 

Are the original c218 & c219 salvageable?

 

Moving on to the picture - you have to straighten out the underlying issues before applying an AV mod to the unit. If you don't you'll just amplify the existing noise and have a crappy AV mod. Once straightened out... you'll be amazed how nice 2600 RF can be. Start here - some weirdo wrote some nonsense about this at one point -

 

The same idiot posted this showing some RF tweaking... (post 32 & 35)

 

Here's a good source for paddle parts if they're needed - although it could be a bad A202 RIOT chip (it's the one under the female cart slot on 4 switch units). But I doubt it.

 

Hello again and thanks for all the helpful info.

 

The board is a REV 16 and the other info has CO15519 and 1980

 

I already did the composite mod and it helped A LOT and figured it would be one less thing.

 

I can safely say that the issue is the TIA chip as I've tried everything else as well as tested the Right Controller port with Warlords and both paddles work fine.

 

I found the Best Electronics site and spoke with the man on the phone and he too confirmed that it would more than likely be the TIA chip. He said he'd be happy to sell me one so I am thinking I am going to try that.

 

Regarding the c218 and c219 caps, they seem ok, should I put them back in or just leave the .69 ones I put in from RadioShack (the .22 and .47 ones in parallel)?

 

Regarding the links you sent, would those resistors, capacitors and voltage regulator help the picture? The picture seems ok, the colors are good although it seems a little blurry or not in focus, but in Pitfall, the Activision at the bottom is clear as a bell. It's hard to describe.

 

I think I'll go ahead and get the Paddle and Joystick upgrades while I order the TIA chip. I hope he also carries a spare controller port as when I was checking and desoldering the existing one, one of the pins broke, but I soldered it back together and it works ok now. It was pin 3 for the Left control.

 

Thanks again and just let me know about the above question and feel free to share any other ideas\upgrades I should consider. I'll see if my RadioShack has all those parts you listed. With my board being a Rev 16, I assume I don't need the 820 ohm resistor, although if I do get another TIA chip from Best Electronics, not sure if that matters or as long as I have a Rev 16 board, that it doesn't matter about the TIA chip and I am in the clear?

[Need Help: 2nd Player Paddle Issues and a Few Others]

Greetings Programs,

 

Long time lurker, first time poster:)

 

Anyway, I recently went head first into my Atari obsession, I mean collection and bought a Woody 2600 4 switcher. Everything was going great, didn't see anything regarding Hmove (will go into that in a little bit) then all of a sudden it stopped working, nothing would happen but a garbled mess when turning on the power. Again, everything was working fine, I had already cleaned everything, even the switches and games.

 

So, thankfully the retro store I got it from has a 30 day guarantee and luckily they had another 4 switcher but it was the Vader model. They tested it with two games (Pitfall and Mario Bros.) and all seemed fine.

 

Got home, tried it out and unfortunately the Black and White and Game Selection switches weren't working, as well as the difficulty switches were glitchy. So once again I took all the switches out, cleaned them and all was good again.

 

However, the first thing I noticed that was different was this presence of a bar\line on the left side of the screen, it was present in some but not all games. In Kaboom it was very obvious, sort of a dotted blue line and the dots moved up and down while playing. So I researched and I believe it is the Hmove thing which is supposedly normal and even present on Emulators? Well I did see it in some games, like Ms. Pacman, but I didn't see the same dotted blue line in Kaboom (in Stella emulator), so not really sure if there is an issue or not?

 

I plan on doing the AV Composite mod and hoping that will fix some issues or at least make the picture better as it looks pretty grainy on my 20" CRT RCA TruFlat TV.

 

So, the main issue I have now is regarding my paddles. I previously cleaned them very thoroughly and they both were working fine with Kaboom on the 2600 Woody I previously had but now on this Vader model, the 2nd player isn't working right. What happens is it jumps almost instantly when you get to a certain point. Think of it as turning it slowly, then all of a sudden it goes from Right to Left instantly. I am able to get it to go half by just inching the paddle ever so slightly.

 

So off to AtariAge I went again, researching all I could. I came across threads that said it could possibly be a short with either the 5 and 7 pin or the 5 and 9 pin or the 7 and 9 pin, you get the idea. So I tested all of these and there wasn't any shorts and I even took it completely out and resoldered everything but still no luck.

 

Next I came across another thread that said possibly the capacitors were the culprit, specifically C218 or C219, so I went to RadioShack but they didn't have the .068 uF but didn't have a .047 uF and a .022 uF, so I put those together (parallel, even though what I read stated these were polarized, so I just used the writing on the capacitor to ensure they were lined up the same ) and replaced both of them but still the same exact issue exists.

 

I also inspected the paddle pin holes and the pins on the console, used ISO 91% to clean but they looked fine and again they worked fine with the Woody 2600 I had.

 

So that leaves me here, what am I missing or is it something to do with the main chips or the TIA thing?

 

I originally wanted to get a 7800, you know best of both worlds, but couldn't find anyone around here that had one for a reasonable price that is.

 

Thanks for any and all help and apologies for the above novel but just wanted to be as detailed as I could in all the research and troubleshooting I've tried.

 

Ed